Toronto Mayor Says He Doesn't Smoke Crack Cocaine

TORONTO (AP) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies that he smokes crack cocaine and says he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. Ford did not say whether he has ever used the drug.

Close allies released a letter Friday urging the mayor to address a purported video that apparently shows him smoking crack cocaine.

Ford has been ducking the media and his only comments on the scandal came last Friday, a day after the story broke, when he called the crack smoking allegations "ridiculous" and said that the Toronto Star was out to get him.

The alleged video has not been released publicly and its authenticity has not been verified. Reports on gossip website Gawker and in theToronto Star claimed it was taken by men who said they had sold the drug to Ford.